Why digital transformation is now a race, rather than a long-term aspiration for family offices.

Industry transformation is happening as we speak and the financial industry is undergoing digital transformation in order to stay competitive, meaning the old approach of slow and steady no longer wins the race.

The financial industry is undergoing a transformational change due to technological innovation and customer needs. Family offices have an even more specific challenge, as their beneficiary owners become younger and more tech-savvy, they demand more of their family office and its technological abilities.

It's time for family offices to rethink their strategies and plan their digital transformation to better engage their customers and deliver a compelling service by managing growing complexity and reporting demands. 

To succeed in this race, family offices will need;

• Rapid access to their data

• To breakdown the silos between accounting and investment management, better enabling data-driven decisions

• Automatic aggregation of all assets and liabilities across the board

This wish list is not a distant vision of the future. It’s a reality right now, placing family offices in an all-out sprint toward a new era of wealth management. The race to the cloud is another clear example of how financial institutions are no longer operating in a traditional environment where technology can serve as their competitive advantage. Rather, their success will depend on the ability to continuously adapt and transform their business for new opportunities (e.g., analytics, reporting & automated connections to custodians) and threats (e.g., cyber attacks, regulations).

A recent survey from Deloitte found that while 70% of financial services leaders expect their technology requirements to become more complex over the next 5 years, only 6% think they are ready for this transition. However, the challenges are not insurmountable. In fact, companies can take an active role in preparing for new and evolving requirements.

Family offices can start by asking;

1. Can my current system manage an ever diversifying portfolio?

2. Can my family office software manage numerous multi-entity and multigenerational family structures and the varying requests and requirements that come with that?

3. Do my back office systems connect to my front office systems, doing away with Excel, reducing errors and automating the process?

Not only will digital transformation allow family offices to answer yes to all these questions, but will give family members complete transparency into their wealth and office operations. It will allow for quick and easy reporting in the different formats required for each generation and their individual focus. Dedicated family office software gives family offices the edge in efficiency, agility and decision-making.

We believe true digital transformation comes in the form of an integrated platform that adopts an enterprise resource planning (ERP) approach. Enterprise applications provide a uniform user experience across all departments with a single sign-on. The Single Source Of Truth (SSOT) model eliminates the silos between accounting and investment management, better enabling you to make data-driven decisions.